Pandora
One of the most interesting talks I attended this week was by Tim Westergren of Pandora. He didn't have slides and just sat on the table (sometimes sitting on his hands, which is a habit that I have too) and started talking. He is certainly the chief evangelist for the company.
When you think about it, it is really hard to scale a business which requires musicians to listen to music and analyze them in over 400(?) attributes. There is a huge body of music out there, and there's always new music coming out. But the amazing thing is that Tim Westergren is still passionate about his business despite the terrible lows he faced in the business, inspiring people, and not compromising on his beliefs to make more money. There are no top 10 lists and no accepting of money to play or analyze music.
I was inspired to go play with Pandora again. And it is a really great tool, and it does pick the music that I like with uncanny accuracy and reminds me about artists that I haven't heard in a while and perhaps introduce me to more music that I like. The minus is just that the sound quality isn't all that great. I would describe it as somewhat tinny.
